Run to You (8 page)

Including a beautiful girlfriend.

Without a doubt, Greta had been the best-looking woman in the place. Even Dale’s wife, the overdone model, and Daina Snarskis, cited by fans as the most beautiful Ice Bandits wife, could not compete with Greta Patton on this night. Even gruff Duncan MacQuarrie stole a few glances at her, when he wasn’t bitching about his cold potatoes.

“You look so lovely, Greta.” Brandon came closer. He looked into her smoky green eyes. “When I saw you in that dress…”

“Let’s not talk anymore.” Greta kissed him. She wrapped her arms around him, and kissed him again.

Her sudden move almost took his breath away. But even when he was surprised, the best defenseman in the game knew he had to respond, to live up to what the moment demanded.

Greta and Brandon held each other, embracing tightly, and kissed each other.

Brandon had seen fire in the eyes of his teammates. But this was the first time he had plainly seen desire in the eyes of a beautiful woman. This was a woman who wanted him for himself, not because he wore a uniform and could buy her expensive trinkets.

She paid her own way. And as for expensive trinkets, well, she was a jewelry expert and worked with gold and diamonds all the time. She saw expensive items in the course of her work.

Greta slowly unbuttoned Brandon’s shirt. “You look so different out of uniform.”

He flashed a wicked grin. “Yes, I told you before. I look very different when I’m not wearing my uniform.”

She blushed, and tried to hide her face. “I didn’t mean…”

“I know what you mean, Greta.” He gently cupped her face in his hands. “Look at me, Greta.”

The big strong hockey player kissed his girl as tenderly as he could.

“Please stay with me, Brandon. I want you to. Stay with me tonight.”

Brandon had taken part in this game before. This was between two people, and much more intense than any hockey game could ever be. This particular match was a special game, where more was at stake than the final tally.

Dressing up for this game, with shin pads and shoulder pads and helmets, was not the way to go. Dressing down was the way. And it was a big part of this game to help each other with this task. Dressing down, with less and less to wear, until nothing was left. Brandon and Greta were born with everything they needed to take part in this game.

In this game, speed was not of utmost importance. Instead, taking it slow was the way to play. Taking your time and finding what worked best, and what worked better yet. And staying with that game plan, even as the tension built, as the excitement grew. And not being in a hurry to finish the game. You knew by watching your partner, paying attention to her reactions and responses, and the way she did the same for you.

The game was so much better when the two partners both wanted to do their best for each other. Giving and taking, not all taking. Each to the other. Past experience did not matter. And it didn’t matter how many times a partner had taken part in this game before. All that mattered was here and now, that the two participants had found each other, and they were together for the first time. They were playing this game in their own unique way, with their own actions and reactions.

Participating in this game with a new partner was a thrilling experience. No game films, no wondering how the other team worked, or what they did to stay in shape. In this game, you knew what worked just by your own feelings. And your partner’s feelings made the game that much more worthwhile and that much more exciting. Maybe you were in this game situation before, and you knew what worked, but a different approach sometimes worked even better.

And once you found what worked best, you stayed there, and kept at it. And kept at it some more. Instead of fighting an opponent, you gave in to your partner. You weren’t afraid to surrender, and give your all.

Flashy plays weren’t always the way, and selfish play was not the way this time. Sometimes it was. Often it was, with some of the men who played this game. But not this time. Not with a special partner as Brandon picked this time around.

No big crowds, or lights, or fans screaming. This was just the two participants, Brandon and Greta, in the dark of her room. Sometimes he would speak low. Sometimes she would call his name. No crowd chanting, “We want Brandon.” Only one voice speaking softly, “I want you, Brandon.”

And when this game finally concluded, the two participants did not go their own separate ways. They stayed right where they were, each clinging to the other, who made the game possible, and who made it the best experience the two partners ever had.

“Now I want this really special. This is for my daughter when she gets married, so I need this by June tenth.”

Greta’s customer stood over her, dictating every detail she wanted in her bracelet order. That was good. She couldn’t give the customers what the wanted, if they didn’t know what they wanted. But this one was something else.

“She’s actually getting married June 27
^th
. But I give a different date, just in case the work is delayed or it isn’t ready on time. My daughter did that with her bridesmaid dresses. She told the seamstress she was getting married two weeks before she…”

“Let me get this straight. You want fancy engraving. You like elaborate designs, not simple. And what kind of stone?” Greta wrote an outline of the project on a sheet of white paper, drawing a preliminary sketch of the bracelet she would create.

The customer had a face like a gargoyle. She carried a purse decorated with hearts and symbols, and the legend “peace and love.”

“Well. My daughter’s birthstone is an amethyst. She was born in February. Her favorite color is purple, anyway. Now my birthday is in November, and my birthstone is topaz. It’s a yellow color, and…”

I don’t care what month you were born, Greta thought. I am doing this bracelet for your daughter. And if you’d quit yakking so much, I could do my job and you would get your order that much quicker.

The gargoyle tapped her finger on Greta’s note paper. “More like a swirl, not like this. This looks like a corkscrew pasta. I want it elegant. My daughter is elegant, and her wedding will be too.”

Greta smothered a laugh.

After fifteen more minutes of back-and-forth, the gargoyle left a deposit and went on her way. Greta was glad to see her go. Customers always wanted things their way, of course; but this one was so demanding. Greta wondered what she was like with her daughter, planning her wedding.

The main door opened, and Brandon Taylor strode in.

“Hey, look who’s here! You missed a fun customer.”

Brandon looked around the main floor of South Side Precious Metals, the two men buying gold—who were just sitting now—another jeweler who was setting a stone, and Greta, with her scribbled notes in front of her.

“Busy day?”

“Not really. I have a few projects to work on. But business has been kind of slow since the holidays.” She didn’t want to mention Mr. Blakely’s meeting, when he hinted at layoffs and bad times.

“Can you tear yourself away for a few minutes? I need some lunch. And some good company. I’m starved. We had quite a workout this morning.”

Greta glanced at the clock. “Quarter to twelve! Where did the morning go?” She was not a clock-watcher, but she was wrapped up in her orders and the gargoyle.

And she’d sent one more text to April, one more attempt to apologize, with no response.

Mr. Blakely entered the main room and saw Greta’s guest.

“Brandon Taylor? Is that you? Good to see you. I’m Thomas Blakely, the owner of this joint.” He extended his hand, and Brandon shook it.

“Nice game against Vancouver. You played them tough.”

“We like to play that team. It’s a challenge.” Brandon looked around at the main room, the work areas where the engravers, like Greta, sat and did their work. There were three tables set up where the workers appraised the gold and silver that the customers brought in, and a desk in the back where the accountant worked. That desk was cluttered and piled with paperwork, two phones, and a big desktop computer that looked about ten years old.

“Come in the back conference room,” Mr. Blakely told Brandon. “Treat today. We ordered Italian beef from that restaurant around the corner. And you are more than welcome to join us, Brandon.”

Greta wasn’t sure if Brandon wanted to stay, or if he liked Italian beef, but he walked ahead of her into the conference room. “That sounds really good, Mr. Blakely.”

“You can call me Tom.”

“But Greta calls you Mr. Blakely.” He winked, and sat down on a folding chair in the huge, sunny conference room.

Brandon picked up a big sandwich, dripping with beef and juice, and took a big bite. “This is good.” He took another big bite, picked some green peppers from the top, and gulped them down. “Aren’t you going to eat?”

“Oh, I can’t polish off a big sandwich. I’ll take half of one.” Greta carefully selected one of the smaller sandwiches, picking off some of the peppers. “I have a lot of work to do. Didn’t you have a practice this morning?”

“Yeah. Yeah, we sure did. And it was tough. It gets tougher as the season goes on.” Brandon wolfed down the big sandwich in a few gulps. “That was good.”

“I probably seem boring after your big workout and all. It’s pretty quiet in here today.”

“This isn’t boring. Actually, it’s kind of nice.” Brandon looked at the conference room; Greta’s co-workers had left her and her friend alone to eat together. “You make jewelry and do special orders?”

“And we buy gold and silver from people. You wouldn’t believe some of the things they bring in. School rings, wedding rings. It’s kind of sad.”

Brandon suddenly remembered his grandmother’s gold ring, and wondered if it was in their safe, or wherever they kept the stuff they bought.

“What do you do with the rings after you buy them?”

Greta finished her beef sandwich, and took a drink from a pop bottle. “We send them to the smelter. If we have gold teeth, we pick out the gold…”

Brandon made a face.

“And we have a coin expert on staff who checks the coins, to see if there’s anything really valuable.” Greta wiped her mouth. “Okay. Back to work.”

South Side Precious Metals was so different from Brandon’s workplace. He practiced and watched films and was under tremendous pressure to succeed. Hockey was a fast and intense game that got more intense late in the season. And he constantly worked out, to keep in shape and force his body to play the very best game he could.

Greta’s place was quiet and slow-paced. It was different, but a nice different.

“Can I watch you work on something?”

“Sure.” Greta was taken aback by his question. She never thought of her work as exciting, especially when compared to the life of a professional athlete. “Sure. My table is over here.”

Greta and Brandon walked to her work area. Her table was large and well-lit, with an array of engraving tools within easy reach.

“Here’s my latest project. A gold bracelet with a simple design. My customer likes simple designs. Some of my customers like more fancy and elaborate engravings.”

Brandon spent the next few hours watching Greta work. He hesitated to ask her many more questions, even when she picked up some odd-looking tool and used it on the bracelet. Her concentration and attention to detail showed in her work and the finished product.

“I’m sorry if you’re bored,” Greta said after half an hour.

“No, no. Don’t be sorry. This is not boring.” The slow pace was so different from the speed of a hockey game and the intensity of practices and workouts.

An hour went by without anyone speaking.

Finally, Greta peered at her project. “I think it’s finished. Let me double check.” She picked up a magnifier and studied every inch of the bracelet. She knew just what to look for and knew how she wanted it to look.

She began polishing the bracelet. “Done. Now I’ll put this in a bag, with the customer’s name on it, and call her to pick it up.” She looked up the customer’s name and phone number in a card box, not on a computer. “Brandon, I can’t believe you watched the whole thing.”

“You made something pretty. You created something. I never knew there was so much to jewelry. I thought it was…just there.”

“Thank you. Glad you like it. Hope my customer does too.”

Brandon’s short visit to see Greta turned into a few hours. Her co-workers didn’t mind one bit—it wasn’t every day that an Ice Bandits player dropped by—and she spotted Mr. Blakely smiling at her. Greta smiled back. She was happy that Brandon saw her at work, and more than happy that he chose to spend that much time with her, even though being a jewelry maker wasn’t that exciting. At least, compared to what he did.

Brandon told her, “I really enjoyed this. I liked watching you work. I want you to watch me work too. You have to come to a game sometime.”

“Pick the date. I can be there.”

When Brandon got ready to leave, Mr. Blakely shook his hand and invited him to come back.

“I may take you up on that, Mr. Blakely.”

“That’s Tom.”

“Who knows? When my playing days are over, I may have another career.”

Greta walked Brandon to his car. The stayed together for a long moment.

“Thank you for coming to observe me today.”

“Anytime.” He kissed her, out in the middle of the parking lot amid the lunchtime traffic.

“Nice to see a friendly face.” She smiled up at him. “Some of my customers drive me crazy. You should have seen the one this morning. She looked like a gargoyle.”

Brandon laughed at Greta’s description.

“And she carried a purse that said peace and love.”

“What a concept.” Brandon kissed her again.

Brandon would visit Greta again at work, but sometimes they would meet at a nearby park and just walk around. Once they went to a movie after work. And another time, they checked out the Mall close to South Side Precious Metals, window shopped, and observed the other shoppers.

Time with Greta was a welcome respite from the practices, lectures, and pressure. He wanted to spend more and more of his time with this great girl. He was relaxed and could be himself. She didn’t care about his fame or money. They genuinely enjoyed each other’s company.